Lucban, Quezon: A #solotravel and #HolyWeek Specials

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Its almost 4:00 in the morning on April 3, 2015, Good Friday, when I woke up wondering where will I be spending my vacation leave. I didn't want to just let the day pass without doing nothing, I didn't want to let the day pass watching old movies from local channels. 

Traditionally, some local TV stations go off the air, but some TV stations broadcast old movies from Nora Aunor's Himala, FPJ's Panday, Vilma Santos' Relasyon, and many others. These and other old time movies are the ones I've been watching during Lenten week. I grew up watching them during holy week since we had our first black and white TV, back in the days where the whole family get together and watch TV without cellphones, tablets and other gadgets on hand, and yes I had an awesome childhood because I get to experience real quality time with my family wherein you get to stay together -  no social media, no Facebook, no Instagram, no smartphones.

Its Good Friday and I was eager to stay out and be with God to give thanks for all the blessings I had received and will be receiving :)

Its almost 6:00 AM and I found myself boarding an airconditioned bus in Buendia Pasay bound for Lucena in Quezon Province. Travel time takes 4 hours but since its Good Friday, I was able to reach Lucena Grand Central in 3 and a half hours. From Lucena Grand Central, I rode a jeepney going to Lucban, but it took me 2 hours before I reach Lucban because of heavy traffic due to the huge number of pilgrims going to Kamay ni Hesus. Travel time to Lucban usually takes 40 minutes or less but don't expect that to happen during holy week (if you know what Im sayin')

I was totally wowed by the huge number of pilgrims from all walks of life, all lined up, very disciplined and patiently waited for their turn to step in the gates of Kamay ni Hesus.

Kamay ni Hesus was founded by Rev. Father Joseph Ayala Faller in 1998. Fr. Joseph, a well known healing priest holds healing mass every Wednesday and Saturday at 9:30 in the morning.

You can't say that you've been to kamay ni Hesus without braving its 300+ steps going to the top of the hill where you can find the Statue of Christ, a 50-foot statue and is considered as the 3rd largest statue in the world.

On your way up to the hill, you will find a number of statues channeling the 14 Stations of the Cross. 

Upon reaching the the top of the hill, you'll see the entire Lucban which will surely take your breath away... beautiful!

I don't know, I was a bit disappointed with what i smelled when i sat down at the back of the statue. These may be from other visitors who were not able to hold their pee. I hope the management of the site find time to stage a temporary male or female urinals or better yet a small rest room where visitors can pee...

Kamay ni Hesus is not only home to the largest statue and the 14 stations of the cross, on the right side of this 5 hectare land houses some of the life size statues of Adam and Eve, Garden of Eden, Noah's Ark and others. I wasn't able to take pictures of these magnificent statues as i run out of battery...

Truly, Lucban is not just about Pahiyas Festival that is being celebrated every 2nd week of May but also a haven for pilgrimage and the faithful.


Lucban, Quezon...conquered! :)

solo travel: Nagcarlan and Liliw, Laguna

Solitude. Space. Nature. These are the perks of going solo on your trip. It helps you discover your weaknesses and strengths as a traveler. When traveling alone, you force yourself to get connected with other folks - locals and so as other travelers by striking brief conversation asking as far as directions and all that jazz.... going solo also means embarking yourself on a soul searching experience, giving insights of who you really are and what you can do better than others.

When our College Professor asked us to go to some of the historical churches in the Philippines for a project, this red-bricked church came to mind. Through the help of Google, i was able to plan ahead and proceeded with this church that is rich in history and culture.

Its not that hard to get to this place, specially with the availability of public transportation, one can easily get to this magnificent place in just a snap.

How to get to Liliw:

I took a bus from Buendia, Pasay bound to Lucena. It took me 2 hours to get to its neighboring city of San Pablo, which served as drop off point to those who are not blessed with private cars. The bus dropped me off in front of SM San Pablo, then took a jeepney (10 minutes) until San Pablo Cathedral, then another jeep bound to Nagcarlan-Liliw (P30, travel takes 40 minutes). Another route you might want to consider is the Sta. Cruz, Laguna route to Liliw, Laguna.

It was not that hard to find its church, St. John the Baptist (Liliw Church) because as you get off the jeep upon reaching Liliw, this church will proudly greet you with its red brick facade.

The first church was initially made of light materials (woods) until they decided to build a much stronger stone church between 1643 and 1646. The church had gone through earthquakes and was partially burned in 1898. The church that we see today is a result of diligence by the people of Liliw in creating a unique baroque styled church with its red facade and walls.

I stopped for a moment of silence and offered a prayer and gave thanks for the safe solo trip i had.

Its time to go around Liliw and visit another tourist attraction that is - tsinelas.
Liliw is known to us as tsinelas capital of the Philippines. Tsinelas Festival is being celebrated every 2nd or 3rd week of August each year. One can buy a pair of shoes for as low as P300.00. I got mine for P300 :)

On my way back to San Pablo, i asked the jeepney driver to drop me off in a nearby town of Nagcarlan where you can find THE famous and another historical place called underground cemetery.

Built in 1845, the cemetery where burial mass was being held by Franciscan priests, the burial site underneath the chapel was built exclusively for the privileged people like the famous and the rich personalities during Spanish era. So, if you were born at that time and you are not rich, better wrap yourself with a sleeping mat (banig) and be burried elsewhere.. hahaha kidding! :)

It was an honor and privilege to have my name written on the guest list as one of the local tourists who visited that day. Having been solo on this trip, i find it very difficult to convince my self to go down and see that underground cemetery where the rich and famous are buried. Eh, andun na rin lang, sige na nga! :(

Its always free to get in to this cemetery which is, by the way being supervised and managed by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. It is also considered as one of the National Historical Sites by NHCP. It was past 4 in the afternoon when i decided to go back to San Pablo and take the bus back to our house. It was indeed another trip I will never ever forget.

Liliw and Nagcarlan, Laguna. Conquered.